Conical grain roller



Aug. 5, 1969 R. J. RENN CONICAL GRAIN ROLLER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov.24, 1965 Aug. 5, 1969 R. J. RENN 3,459,382

CONICAL GRAIN ROLLER Filed Nov. 24, 1965 s Sheets-Sheet 2 lamb 8- 5,19,69 R. J. RENN 3,,459,382

CONICAL GRAIN ROLLER Filed Nov. 24. 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.6

United States Patent 3,459,382 CONICAL GRAIN ROLLER Reynold J. Renn, 443Riverdale Ave. SW., Calgary, Alberta, Canada Filed Nov. 24, 1965, Ser.No. 509,590 Int. C]. 1502:: 9/04, 15/00, 19/00 US. Cl. 241-141 27 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE My invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in grain rolling devices.

Grain rolling or crushing is usually accomplished by means of a hammermill or by means of two cylindrical rollers in interfacial contactbetween which the grain passes.

However, the principal fault of the hammer mill is the fact that grainis fractured and shattered which, in many instances, is undesirable, andthe principal fault of the cylindrical type grain roller is the factthat the angle of entry between the two rollers is relatively shallowunless the rolls are of large diameter thus causing many types of grainto slip and not be engaged by the rollers to be passed therethrough.

I have overcome these disadvantages by providing a pair of right conicalrollers, the vertices of the conical rollers lying substantially in thesame position with the axes of the rollers angulated so that the conicalsides of the rollers contact one another along a line of contact.

The principal object and essence of my invention is therefore to providea device of the character herewithin described which utilizes two rightconical rollers in interfacial contact one with the other thus forming arelatively acute angle of entry which eliminates undesirable slippage ofgrain being passed therebetween.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherewithin described in which the interfacial contact between the tworollers can be adjusted.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherewithin described which includes means to permit the rollers to bespread apart in case a relatively hard object is encountered thuspreventing damage to the faces or surfaces of the rollers.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherewithin described which includes means for adjusting the parallelismbetween the two rollers at the line of contact.

3,459,382 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 ice A still further object of theinvention is to provide a device of the character herewithin describedwhich is particularly suitable for use with a relatively slippery grain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterherewithin described which is simple in construction, economical inmanufacture, and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it isdesigned.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects andadvantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to whichthis invention relates as this specification proceeds, my inventionconsists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all ashereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of my device.

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the device with the hopper and casingremoved.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation opposite to that of FIG- URE 1 and with thehopper and easing removed.

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment of my device.

FIGURE 6 is a section along the line 6-6 of FIG- URE 5.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the different figures.

Proceeding therefore to describe my invention in detail, referencecharacter 10 indicates a pair of spaced and parallel angle iron membershaving cross members 11 by which the device may be mounted uponconventional supporting structure 12.

A supporting framework collectively designated 13 is secured to themembers 10*, said supporting framework including a pair of side channelmembers 14 converging towards a common axis 15 and being maintained inthe desired position by means of spacer 16.

A cross channel member 17 spans the ends 18 of the channel members 14thus forming a substantially triangular framework when viewed in plan asclearly shown in FIGURE 3.

An enclosure or casing 19 is mounted within the triangular supportingframework 13, said enclosure including a grain feeding hopper 20 formedupon the upper side thereof and communicating with the interior of theenclosure 19.

The lower end 21 of the enclosure is shaped and forms a discharge spout22 also communicating with the interior of the enclosure.

The hopper 20 includes sloping sides 23 which converge twoards adischarge gate 24 spanning the base of hopper, the feed from the basebeing controllable by means of a feed adjustment plate 25 which isconventional in construction.

A bearing housing 26 is secured to one of the members 14 of thesupporting framework and a main drive shaft 27 is journalled forrotation within this hearing housing and may be connected to a source ofpower such as an electic motor of power take-off device (notillustrated). Secured to the inner end 28 of the drive shaft is one of apair of right conical rollers 29, said shaft being secured centrally ofthe circular base 30 thereof.

A channel type mounting member 31 is mounted by the end 32 thereof to apivot pin assembly 33 nesting within the opposite channel 14 of thesupporting structure and this mounting member also carries a bearinghousing 26 within which is journalled an idling shaft 34.

The inner end 35 of the idling shaft 34 carries the other conical roller36 of the pair hereinbefore described, said shaft also being securedcentrally of the circular base 37 thereof.

Due to the angulation between the two channels 14 of the supportingstructure, the apices 38 of the conical rollers are substantiallycoincident with one another whereas the axes 39 are angulated withrespect to one another so that the conical surfaces 39' of the twoconical rollers are in interfacial relationship along a line of contact40 extending from the apices 38 to the circumerence or perimeter 41 ofthe circular bases as clearly illustrated in FIGURE 3 of the drawings.

Certain types of adjustment are desirable in the relationship betweenthe two conical rollers and in this connection reference should be madeto the hinge 33 hereinbefore described, of the mounting member 31.

A bracket 42 extends from the hinge or pivot assembly 33 part way acrossthe member 17 of the supporting structure and this bracket is providedwith an oifstanding lug 43 screw threadably engageable by a bolt 44which in turn engages a lug 45 secured to the member 17.

It will therefore be seen that rotation of the bolt 44 will move thepivot assembly in the direction of double headed arrow 46 thusadjusting, within limits, the parallel relationship of the conical faces39' at the point of contact 40. This is so that the line of contact mayremain parallel irrespective of any wear occuring to the conical facesduring use.

Means are also provided to adjust the relationship between theinterfactial line of contact of the two discs and in this connection abolt 47 extend across the supporting framework members 14 and throughthe spacer 16. This bolt is provided with a retainer 48 which bearsagainst one of the members 14 and the end 49 of the bolt passes throughthe end 50 of the member 31. Nuts 51 upon either side of the end 50permit the member 31 to be adjusted around the pivot assembly 33 withinlimits thus adjusting the interfacial contact pressure between the twoconical rollers.

Means are also provided to permit the passage of a relatively hardobject such as a stone without damaging the disc faces 39 and in thisconnection the other end 52 of the bolt 47 is provided with nut 53 andsaddle washer 54. The bolt passes through a resilient assembly such asleaf springs 55 which span the edges of the flanges 56 of the sidemember 14 as clearly shown in FIGURE 2. By adjusting the nut 53 upon theend 52 of the bolt 47 the spring tension is adjusted of the idling coneroller mounted upon member 31 so that normally the discs will notseparate unless a stone or similar hard object passes therebetween,under which circumstances, of course, bolt 47 may move against pressureof resilient assembly 55.

Finally a shroud or similar means 57 extends from the side 58 of thehopper to adjacent the apices 38 of the rollers, the side edges 59 ofthe shroud just clearing the sloping surfaces so that the roller faces39' thus directing the grain from the hopper to the line of contact 40.

In operation, the drive roller is rotated by the source of power in thedirection of arrow 60 and, under normal circumstances, the two conicalrollers are in contact one with the other, so that drive is transmittedto the idling conical roller.

Grain is fed from the hopper to the relatively sharp angled entry formedby the cone faces 39' and is crushed at the line of contact 40 as itpasses between the rollers.

Due to the aforementioned sharp angle between the conical faces, thereis no tendency for the grain to slip and not pass the line of contactand, depending upon the pressure between the two rollers at the line ofcontact,

the amount of crushing of the grain may be controlled within limits.

If relatively large grain is to be cracked or conditioned, then therollers may be parted slightly under which circumstances the friction ofthe grain passing through the rollers at the line of contact transmitspower from one roller to the other.

FIGURES 5 and 6 show the preferred embodiment of the device whichincreases the capacity of the device considerably.

The two rollers 29 are separated slightly so that the line of contact 40becomes a line of potential contact.

A pair of arms 61 are mounted upon a bracket 62 which in turn is mountedto the cross member 17 of the supporting framework and these bracketsconverge at the ends 63 thereof, said ends being located adjacent theapices 38 of the rollers 29 and support for rotation therebetween a disc64.

This disc is rotatable vertically between the ends 63 of the arms 61 andthe diameter of the disc is similar or is slightly larger than thediameter of the rollers 29.

This ensures that a portion of the disc between the center thereof andthe perimeter 65 is engaged upon either side thereof along the potentialline of contact 40 of the two rollers 29.

The pressure of the rollers against the disc causes same to rotate whenthe rollers are rotated so that the grain is crushed between the conicalface 39' of each disc and each surface 66 of the disc 64.

The bracket 62 is mounted upon the member 17 through lugs 66' and ascrew threaded adjustment bolt 67 passing through the lugs permitslimited horizontal adjustment of the arms 61 and hence the disc 64 withrelation to the rollers 29.

The position of this disc practically doubles the capacity of the deviceas there are now four crushing surfaces rather than two as heretobeforedescribed.

Since various modifications can be made to the invention hereindescribed within the scope of the inventive concept disclosed, it isnote intended that protection of the said invention should beinterpreted as restricted to the modification or modifications or knownparts of such concept as have been particularly described, defined, orexemplified, since this disclosure is intended to explain theconstruction and operation of such concept, and not for the purpose oflimiting protection to any specific embodiment or details thereof.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A conical grain roller comprising in combination a supportingframework, an enclosure supported by said framework, grain feeding meansmounted on the upper end of said enclosure and communicating therewith,grain discharge means on the base of said enclosure and communicatingtherewith, and a pair of right conical rollers within said enclosure andjournalled for rotation in said framework, the vertices of said conicalrollers being adjacent one another, the axes of said conical rollersbeing angulated one from the other whereby said conical rollers aresubstantially in interfacial relationship along a line of potentialcontact therebetween, extending between said vertices and thecircumferential edges of the bases of said conical rollers, at least oneof said conical rollers being driven and means to adjust the saidinterfacial relationship between said conical rollers, said means toadjust the interfacial relationship between said conical rollersincluding a member pivotally secured by one end thereof to saidsupporting framework, one of said conical rollers being journalled forrotation within said member and adjustment means coacting between theother end of said member and said framework for pivotally setting saidmember within limits.

2. The device according to claim 1 which includes adjustable resilientmounting means for at least one of said conical rollers adapted tomaintain said one conical roller in position with relation to the otherof said conical rollers up to a predetermined interfacial pressure.

3. The device according to claim 1 which includes means to adjust theparallelism of the said interfacial contact.

4. The device according to claim 2 which includes means to adjust theparallelism of the said interfacial contact.

5. The device according to claim 2 in which said adjustable resilientmounting means for said conical roller includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, said conicalroller being journalled for rotation within saim member, an adjustablespring loaded mounting means for the other end of said member mountingsame to said framework.

6. The devices according to claim 3 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation within said member, saidpivotal means being mounted for adjustment within limits to saidframework.

7. The device according to claim 3 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation with said member, andadjustment means coacting between the other end of said member and saidframework for pivotally setting said member within limits, said one endof said member being mounted for limited adjustment to said framework.

8. A conical grain roller comprising in combination a supportingframework, an enclosure supported by said framework, grain feeding meansmounted on the upper end of said enclosure and communicating therewith,grain discharge means on the base of said enclosure and communicatingtherewith, and 'a pair of right conical rollers within said enclosureand journalled for rotation in said framework, the vertices of saidconical rollers being adjacent one another, the axes of said conicalrollers being angulated one from the other whereby said conical rollersare substantially in interfacial relationship along a line of potentialcontact therebetween, extending between said vertices and thecircumferential edges of the bases of said conical rollers, at least oneof said conical rollers being driven, and a disc rotatable verticallybetween said conical rollers, means extending from said supportingframework to mount said disc for rotation, the axis of said disc beingadjacent the apices of said rollers, a portion of said disc between thecenter and the perimeter thereof lying between said rollers at said lineof potentoial contact thereof.

9. The device according to claim 8 which includes means to adjust thehorizontal position of said disc, within limits, relative to saidrollers.

10. The device according to claim 8 which includes means to adjust theinterfacial contact pressure between said conical rollers.

11. The device according to claim 8 which includes adjustable resilientmounting means for at least one of said conical rollers adapted tomaintain said one conical roller in position with relation to the otherof said conical rollers up to the predetermined interfacial pressure.

12. The device according to claim 8 which includes means to adjust theparallelism of the said interfacial contact.

13. The device according to claim 10 which includ es adjustableresilient mounting means for at least one of said conical rollersadapted to maintain said one conical roller in position with relation tothe other of said conical rollers up to a predetermined interfacialpressure.

14. The device according to claim 10 which includes means to adjust theparallelism of the said interfacial contact.

15. The device according to claim 11 which includes means to adjust theparallelism of the said interfacial contact.

16. The device according to claim 10 in which said means to adjust theinterfacial contact pressure between said conical rollers includes amember pivotally secured by one end thereof to said supportingframework, one of said conical rollers being journalled for rotationwithin said member and adjustment means coacting between the other endof said member and said framework for pivotally setting said memberwithin limits.

17. The device according to claim 13 in which said means to adjust theinterfacial contact pressure between said conical rollers includes amember pivotally secured by one end thereof to said supportingframework, one of said conical rollers being journalled for rotationwithin said member and adjustment means coacting between the other endof said member and said framework for pivotally setting said memberwithin limits.

18. The device according to claim 14 in which said means to adjust theinterfacial contact pressure between said conical rollers includes amember pivotally secured by one end thereof to said supportingframework, one of said conical rollers being journalled for rotationwithin said member and adjustment means coacting between the other endof said member and said framework for pivotally setting staid memberwithin limits.

19. The device according to claim .11 in which said adjustable resilientmounting means for said conical roller includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, said conicalroller being journalled for rotation within said member, an adjustablespring loaded mounting means for the other end of said member mountingsame to said framework.

20. The device according to claim 13 in which said adjustable resilientmounting means for said conical roller includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, said conicalroller being journalled for rotation within said member, an adjustablespring loaded mounting means for the other end of said member mountingsame to said framework.

21. The device according to claim 14 in which said adjustable resilientmounting means for said conical roller includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, said conicalroller being journalled for rotation within said member, an adjustablespring loaded mounting means for the other end of said member mountingsame to said framework.

22. The device according to claim 12 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation within said member, saidpivotal means being mounted for adjustment within limits to saidframework.

23. The device according to claim 14 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation within said member, saidpivotal means being mounted for adjustment within limits to saidframework.

24. The device according to claim 15 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation within said member, saidpivotal means being mounted for adjustment within limits to said frame-Work.

25. The device according to claim 12 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation within said member, andadjustment means coacting between the other end of said member and saidframework for pivotally setting said member within limits, said one endof said member being mounted for limited adjustment to said framework.

26. The device according to claim 14 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation within said member, andadjustment means coacting between the other end of said member and saidframework for pivotally setting said member within limits, said one endof said member being mounted for limited adjustment to said framework.

27. The device according to claim 15 which includes a member pivotallysecured by one end thereof to said supporting framework, one of saidconical rollers being journalled for rotation within said member, andadjustment means coacting between the other end of said member and saidframework for pivotally setting said member within limits, said one endof said member being mounted for limited adjustment to said framework.

8 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 52,363 1/1866 Kellogg 241-2522,083,462 6/1937 Long 241-252 FOREIGN PATENTS 139,919 10/1960 U.S.S.R.268,492 10/ 1929 Italy. 408,106 5/1933 Great Britain.

ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner D, G. KELLY, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

